Economical aspects of nosokomeia in early Byzantium
In the 4th century, an époque of intensive Christianisation of the Roman Empire, a new form of providing aid to fellow neighbours appeared, namely charity organizations. Although there were several types of them, in practice the differences between them were quite seamless. Depending on needs, hospital functions were carried by ksenodochia (inns for Christian pilgrims and other travellers), ptochotrophia (shelters for the poor), gerokomia (homes for the elderly) and most of all nosokomia specialised in treating the sick. Also, the Church legislator of the time (synods and councils) and the secular lawmaker (the emperor) did not differentiate the scope of activities of the aforementioned institutions. Since the sick, the poor or pilgrims (or any other exhausted travellers), no matter their age, were able to find shelter or help in each of those institutions, they were commonly perceived as identical. The sources we have, however, do not provide an answer to the question of how this issue was regulated in practice, if only due to the prevention against spreading various diseases (separating the contagiously ill, including most of all lepers, from less severe cases). The sources we know do not also provide an explicit answer to another important question, namely whether in such types of Christian charitable institutions also pagans, Jews or even „heretics” were able to find treatment.
Information on the subject of early Byzantine hospitality are found mainly in hagiographic, papyrus or normative texts of the time (mainly in the legislature of emperor Justinian). The geographical range of Christian charitable institutions in the period of our interest is considerably well known, yet it is a different case in terms of attempts to estimate their numbers and size. In that matter, if we were to count individual foundations mentioned in the sources as well as those known from field research, it would turn out that in the whole Eastern Roman Empire only several dozens of such institutions had been functioning since the beginning of the 7th century; numbers, which undoubtedly are considerably underestimated. We already find them since the 20s of the 4th century in Egypt and later on in Asia Minor, in Syria, Palestine and obviously in the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople. In greatest numbers the Christian charitable institutions were established most of all in large cities or in the case of specialised medical centres such as leprosoria (homes for lepers), in their nearby areas. They were run mostly by the local clergy (presbyterians or deacons) or monks, who would also take care of financing them. Money (as well as other goods) needed for their functioning were collected by means of small contributions and most of all through sizeable donations and last will testaments made by affluent founders.
Theological Studies of Paul’s Teaching Based on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 For the Elderly Congregation in The church
